Five Guys Burgers & Fries – Gurnee, IL

Our last meal in Gurnee before coming home was yet another chain restaurant. In way, I’m really disappointed in myself for not seeking out anything local in Gurnee, but Gurnee is such a tourist town and they had the chains I really like and can’t get here in Southwest Michigan.

After we ate at Rainforest Cafe on Sunday, I noticed a sign for a Five Guys in an outlying shopping center near Gurnee Mills. The shops address is on Grand Avenue, but the front door faces the mall and Prairie Creek Drive.

I always seek out Five Guys when I’m on my own. J’s not a beef eater although she will occasionally go for a fast food burger. I don’t really consider Five Guys a fast food burger, so I was nervous she wouldn’t really like it.

We made our way past the sacks of potatoes to the order counter. I pointed out to J that the stores advertise which town in Idaho the potatoes come from and since she lived in Idaho Falls for two years, she actually knew exactly where the town was that the potatoes came from on this particular day.

I stuck with my typical order of a Bacon Cheeseburger while J got the Little Bacon Cheeseburger. I never add any toppings to my burgers because they’re so good on their own. J added on BBQ sauce, pickles, and lettuce. We decided to split an order of regular fries instead of each getting one. The fries are so large, we both would have been overstuffed for the three hour drive home.

After about ten minutes, our order number was called and I was handed a paper sack with our food. We were eating in, but orders are still bagged up due to the fact they dump extra fries in to the bag.

We grabbed a table in the small dining room and ripped open the bag. We both kind of went for the fries first and, unlike my last trip to Five Guys, these fries were spot on. They were nice and crispy, fresh cut, skin on fries. I watched the fry cook working the baskets and each batch of fries went in to three separate fryers. The fries were perfect and like I’ve said in the past, when Five Guys fries are cooked right, there’s really no one that can beat them.

As I expected, my burger was incredibly delicious. It was cooked perfectly with the cheese melted to a gooey layer between the two fresh beef patties. The bacon was very crispy and stood out from the soft bun.

To my surprise, J, a non-beef eater, loved her Little Bacon Cheeseburger. The difference between the Little and the regular bacon cheeseburger is that the Little has only one patty while the regular has two. I really expected her to take one bite and hand it to me, but that didn’t happen. She was a fan of Five Guys….that makes me happy🙂

Our bill was a little over $16 but that didn’t include any drinks and only one fry. I’m really happy J suggested we stop before we finished up our family weekend/Christmas in Gurnee. Sure, I would have liked to have found some of the “Where the Locals Eat” type places in this tourist town, but I’m happy with our choices.

Related

Sometimes it’s nice walking into a place knowing what to expect. Remember some of the burger places in Lansing that the locals revere? Goes to show you can’t always trust the local palette. Also love that 5 Guys has a great selection of Iced Tea.

Next time you’re around East Lansing, be sure to stop in at Bagger Dave’s. It’s a Michigan chain that’s a more of a gastropub experience.

There’s a Bagger Dave’s that just opened in Grand Rapids as well….I’ve been wanting to get take out from there or something…heard it was really good. Have you been to the one in East Lansing yet? Good?